Occasionally we stopped the cars so the drivers could make manual adjustments to the wheel hubs for what I’ll call “superman” four-wheel drive, setting up the vehicle to get itself in-and-out of deep mud and potholes when necessary. It’s that kind of road. Josefu said it was even more critical when the roads were wet. He also said that it wasn’t uncommon for groups to walk up this 30-minute-by-car stretch of road, dry or wet. I’ve seen pictures of Land Rovers stuck in the mud on the road and (a) cannot imagine what it must be like to drive on this road during the rainy season, or to walk up it in rain and mud, and (b) think, how glad I am that we aren’t walking up it today. If there is such a thing as guilty gratitude, then that’s what I felt: ready to hike but grateful for the ride.

Eventually we came to a muddied-out stretch of road in deep woods, and Josefu declared that this was the end of the road for the Land Rovers. The trailhead was close, he told me, and so we could walk from here.